We ran by Hopfields last night for their soft opening. Wow. If that was a soft, I’d hate to see it if they went hard. The joint was packed with a very enthusiastic looking crowd of folks eating and drinking.

Unfortunately we’re genetically averse to going collar to elbow with a group of hard partying strangers [unless it’s Carnival and everybody’s half naked] so we just snapped a quick photo and kept right on going. We do love that they have a wall full of tap beer and hope that they have cordoned off a section for Live Oak and Real Ale. Our region’s two top breweries.

And we are willing to spend our money here in spite of one of the owners statement that “There are a lot of dive bars, but we know Austin will like something better.”

The pleasures of our town’s vanishing dive bars are manifold and we shan’t go into them here. We just have a hard time picturing liking anything more than an ice cold beer and a pluperfect burger at Ed’s or Moe’s.

Yes, we enjoy an evening at Annie’s or an equally fancy place but is it “better”.

No.

It’s just different. We don’t draw more or less pleasure from an evening at Fonda San Miguel or El Taco Rico. One is not “better” than the other.

We take our pleasures where we find them and we hope to find them at Hopfields in the near future.